Positive aspects of sports

Being a physical education major at SUNY Cortland, I am highly involved in activities, and always involved in sports. Many people are unaware of how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle, and to continue to stay active all the time. Sports bring about physical activity and cause you to strain your muscles, and eventually making them stronger. It's easy to stay out of games and activities because you are not good at them, but people should look at that as a challenge and should want to get good at it.
A positive health aspect of sports is that it gets kids and people outside moving around and getting fresh air. It's scary to think about how our country suffers from so much obesity, but yet we are so technologically advanced. The problem is people aren't telling their kids to go out and play, they're trying to teach them how to work a remote or play on the computer. Promoting good habits at a young age could lead them to a healthy future. It sounds simple, but yet we still see less kids around neighborhoods playing games with each other. It could be our own fault because we do make these games and give them to kids, but this is how our society works.
Even getting off the topic of just sports being positive, we can also say that easy activities can be good too. Games like tag, spud and other childhood games were good to get the blood flowing and kept kids active. A major problem with our country is physical INactivity, too many people don't move. However this is a problem that cannot be solved in one day, or year probably, so well have to wait and see where sports will play a role in our life in the future.

College Basketball

I figured I would talk about something that really interests me, and thats basketball and more specifically college basketball. My whole life i've found it more interesting than the NBA, and I find that the players in college actually try because they have something to prove, they are just playing for the name on their jersey. These kids actually practice hard day in and day out to try and be the best they can for their school, and for themselves. College basketball brings a lot of opportunity to many kids especially on the professional level.
For some reason I have always liked Duke, and everyone always says they suck, and im a front runner, but it's just always been my team and I stick to em. The one thing I like about Duke is Coach K and how he manages his players, and the class they always bring to the gym. They haven't one a national championship in years, but they always make a run during march madness. This year duke is 7-1 this year and already won a tournament championship at Madison Square Garden. With a lot of young players, guard Jon Scheyer and forward Kyle Singler will have to hold some weight of the freshman. I expect to see them in the march madness every year, and they always bring excitement with the Cameron Crazies, which are the wildest fans in basketball. They are playing tonight, and will probably win, and Gonzaga on Saturday, until then i'm gonna have to settle for the awful Knicks.

Giant Move..

This past Sunday the Giants squared off against their rivals the Dallas Cowboys, and it was a great game. As in most big rival games their's lots of tension and trash talk going down, especially between Justin Tuck and Flozell Adams, who both had words to say about each other during and after the game. This was an exciting game throughout, and ended well for all Giant fans out their. The first quarter of the game was an exciting one, even though nobody scored. The defense was playing great on both sides, and the intensity was high.
To begin the second quarter Dallas took a 10-0 lead with 3:14 left on the clock, which is not a lot of time at all. Eli Manning finally got his act together and stormed down the field to give them a touchdown making it 10-7. Once Dallas got the ball back, Giants defensive end Umenyora picked up a fumble and ran it to the one yard line, where they took over and Jacobs got a one-yard touchdown carry. Going into the half it was 14-10 G-men. While everyone was walking back into the locker room, Flozell Adams pushed a Giants team member and this caused pushing and fighting. After the game Adams was fined a penatly, and it was well deserved for a bush league hit after the half ended.
The third quarter was just as good as the first two, with Romo leading his troops to a touchdown making it 17-14. But Eli would not be stopped, he also stormed down the field for a touchdown of his own with a long pass to brandon jacobs. In the fourth quarter is where the magic happened for the Giants, when Domenik Hixon returns a punt for a touchdown giving the Giants a 30-17 lead, ultimatley closing the deal. Finally the Giants are back to playing decent football, and are a serious contender in the wild card, and still got a shot for the division title, but it'll be tough.

It might be time for some new rules...

My post today is going to be a lot different then past weeks, because I will criticizing a team that is my favorite but its only right. Recent trade talks have started already in the world or baseball. Their are so many prospects out their right now just looking to hop on the badnwagon of a potential world series team. Names like Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Matt Holiday, Victor Martinez, Carl Crawfor, Miguel Tejada,Ken Griffey Jr., Vlad Guerrero, Cliff Lee and Josh Beckett. All these names listes are great players with game chaning potential. However in this post I will be talking about the Yankees future picks and who they are interested in. Their has been a lot of talk about pitcher Roy Holliday from the Toronto Blue Jays coming to New York in the spring. Holliday was the pitcher they wanted to get since the beginning of last off-season, when they picked up Sabathia and Burnett, but couldn't afford him. Unfortunatley for Holliday the Yankees won the world series this year, so maybe this year will change his opinion.
One thing that really comes to mind when hearing things like this, is how can the Yankees do this? For one, they are signing another all-star, making it about 9 on their roster, and their payroll will be out of the roof. This makes me think, should the MLB put a cap on how much teams can spend. This also brings about many of comments and questions like, 'well if they have the money, spend it' or 'its not fair that just because we have money and others dont' either way its going to bring about negative and positive comments. Commisioner Bud Selig has recently announced his retire date which will be after the 2012 season. This could bring a change to baseball at this time, because the commisioner has the right to do whatever he wants. The only thing that does worry me if this was to happen is, 'Would the game change, our national pastime?' I mean baseball has been like this forever, should it be changed now? A well known quote can help on this one 'Dont fix what's not broken'...

G-Men.. Playing like girls

Just when i thought the New York Giants had a shot at another super bowl, we mess it up. It seems like ever since we got rid of Plaxico Buress the Giants offense hasn't been able to do anything. Eli manning with that stupid look on his face was absolutley terrible this week, as the Giants played the Broncos for a Thanksgiving night massacre. To start the game, everything was looking fine, as the Giants recieved the ball first, but couldn't do anything with it. After the first quarter Denver was up 3-0. Not a bad score, but the offense needs to pick it up for once because the defense has been carrying them for the last two years. As the game goes on the Giants still cant seem to do anything in the second quarter putting up a fat egg on their side of the scoreboard, while the broncos put up 13 making the halftime score 16-0.
In the second half the giants looked just as terrible, and were making the broncos look like all stars. Eli put together two nice drives, but couldn't convert them to touchdowns leaving us with only six points at the end of the third quarter. Thing didn't get any prettier for the Giants as they let the broncos put in ten more points in the fourth quarter and they held the giants to 0 making the final score 26-6, and leaving many fans upset. Their was only one positive in the game that I saw and that was Osi Umenyiora yelling at the offense and trying to get everyone hyped up. The offense has been putting up terrible number the past four weeks, while the defense has been giving it all they got. One motto ive always lived by in sports "You can't win, if you dont score, no matter how bad the defense was."

Life in Sports This Week

Unlike my other posts where I concentrated on one team, this blog im going to talk about what's been going on in all sports in the past week or so. One thing that came to my attention while watching sports shows this week was how much attention labron james gets, whether it be because he got hurt, or made a cool dunk, or because he made a funny statement. He said that he thinks he could play in the nfl if given the chance. This started huge controversies on all talk shows, and I heard several opinions. One being that if Lebron tried out for a football team who wouldn't be able to make the practice squad, and others saying that he would be a big time star. Personally I think that Lebron is a bsketball player, and should stick to it, if he gets carried away with this football garbage he might actually think of trying out. I think he wouldn't make the practice squad either, those guys are professionals at their sport, just like he is at ball. Another thing that came to my attention while watching some basketball highlights, is the talk of Allen Iverson coming to the Knicks. Being a Knicks fan I would never want to see them pick up Iverson because he is not a team player, and it would lead to another stephon marbury kinda deal. All they have to do is wait one more year, save their money and get some superstars.
College basketball has finally arrived, and im proud to say my Dukies (Duke Blue Devils) are starting off strong, as well as many other teams. Every yearI hear a lot of talk about how college basketball is so much better to watch then the NBA and I agree. I think it's more appealing because of the atmosphere the fans bring, and how intense the players are throughout the whole game. They actually run plays, set off the ball screens, and play defense, which the NBA lacks. Of course their's so much more thats been going in the world of sports, but thats up to u to find out.

One more year

As the New York Knicks starting off another season, this time against the Miami Heat. For those who don't follow the knicks, we have been awful for the past ten plus years. In the past three years our overall record has gone up in the win category a little, but not enough to make it into the playoffs. Seeing as how the Boston Celtics are stacked again this year, I don't see the knicks making any moves towards the playoffs once again. So far this year we are 1-8, and not looking good at all. I feel like every year is the same thing, we go up early in the game, then blow it at the end. They don't have that key player that can finish games like we used to have like Patrick Ewing, or John Starks. In the 1990's when the knicks were a dynasty, Madison Square gardenb would be packed every night, and it gave the garden a really good name, but now, they can barely fill the seats even when lebron james is in town. One major problem that the knicks have is their ability to get a great player and have him adapt to the city, and team. It's not easy coming to new york and being accepted by the fans, just ask Patrick Ewing, who had lots to say about the fans in new york, both good and bad.

For the past three years, the knicks have been getting rid of their highest payed players and picking up low paying players to make room for the 2010-2011 draft. After this season's end, it will be the biggest free agent market possibly ever. Players like Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosh are all going to be free agents, along with a list of about 100 other players. The knicks currently have one of the lowest salaries in the league after being one of the highest for years. The word on the street is that they are looking to pick up Lebron James as their first pick, and will most likely propose an offer that he cannot refuse. Their is also a lot of talk about how he wont leave Cleveland because he feels at home their, seeing as how hes from Ohio. One thing that many people do not know is that last year when Lebron came to New York, he bought out three hot dog stands and gave free hot dogs all game while he was playing. Personally this sounds like hes trying to gain the city over little by little, and when it's time for picking a team, new york will be one of the top prospects. With the Knicks having another game tomorrow night, coach D'antoni hopes to pull out win number two, but with this years squad, it might be hard to reach 20 wins. But we will see in one year where this basketball program plans to head.

27! and counting..

The New York Yankees are officially back, adding another world series ring to their book, with number 27. Not only was this their first ring in eight years, but it was their first season in their new home, and they took it home. Last night in the Bronx, it was extremley rowdy, and the fans were loud as ever. Starting the games were two veterans, Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez. Pettitte threw a gem, only allowing three runs in 6 innings. On the other hand, Martinez didn't bring his best stuff and was knocked out of the game in the third inning. A huge contributor to the Yankees success this potseason was Hideki Matsui, who hit three home runs. By series end, Matsui really pulled through and had four RBI's in game 6 alone. Fair is fair, and Matsui was handed the world series MVP award. It was funny watching him accept the award because he doesn't speak any english, so the transloator was talking into the microphone for him. Since game 1 of the Yanks season, I pretty much watched every game, and I can honeslty say that this years winner's were the best team in the league. We have a cy-young contender, two MVP contenders, and 4 possible hall of famers. This was an all around team this year, especially adding three huge pickups; Mark Texiera, CC Sabathia, and AJ Burnett. I think it's safe to say that we would not have gotten this far without their help this year. One thing i thought was very important about the end of the game was every player said that this trophy was for the 'boss' George Stenibrenner who is very sick. That shows that the Yanks weren't just doing it for themselves, but for the whole organization, which really makes them stand out. Another interesting part about the after game, was that at 2:30 in the morning, while driving home from the game, manager joe girardi stopped on the side of the highway to help a crashed car victim. To me this shows that just because you are famous, and just one a world championship, doesn't make you some kind of god, their still regular people. This really shows that the Yankees this year were unselfish, and willing to do anything, which is probably why they came out successful this year. With another one in the bag, that will be it for my posting of the Yankees this year, so once again, GO YANKS!

World Series Bound

Last Night at approximatley 8:30 pm, the Yankees hosted the Angels once again, in a game 6 battle, which the Yankees were up in the series 3-2. This game was highly aniticipated, and they played to their potential. To begin the game, it was scoreless until the third inning, where the Angels took the lead. Mathis doubled to center, then had bobby abrue, the former yankee, drive him in. After three the Angels led 1-0. Luckily it didnt take the yankees long to get back in it, they answered back with 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth. With help from the Angels pitching staff who walked in a run, the yanks worked walks, got simple base hits, and ran the bases well.

Pitching for the Yanks was veteran Andy Pettite, who pitch a greatgame, only allowing one run through six innings. Throwing for the Angels was Joe Saunders, not a rookie, but doesn't have much postseason experience. Once he got a couple hits against him and let up a couple runs, Angels coaching staff was not hesitant on pulling im right away. Getting into the bullpen early in the games has been a key success for the Yanks throughout the postseason. With great hitting from A-Rod, Jeter, and Damon, the Yankees were able to put up five runs on a good pitching staff. Another key to the Yankees success this postseason was their ability to work walks, and make pitchers get deep into their pitch counts. After winning last nights game 5-2, the Yanks are feeling confident going into the World Series with their ace CC Sabathia on the mound on lots of rest.

Its been 6 years since the Yanks have been to the world series, and from whatn the players are saying, manager Joe Girardi has been doing a great job. After winning the ALCS last night, CC Sabathia was named MVP of the ALCS, with a 1.1 era. They interviewed several players and management last night, and its apparent that this year they are trying to win it for old owner George Steinbrenner, who is very sick right now. With the series starting wednesday, its going to be an exciting week, for New York fans as well as Philadelphia fans. Phillies are making their second trip in a row to the world series, and were the champions last year. Home field advantage is definitley in favor for New York, but if they dont come to play, Phillies will repeat what they did last year. With everything said and done, Go Yankss!!

Almost...

Yesterday was an almost day for the New York Yankees as they went to Los Angeles to play the Angels in the third game of the series. On the mound for the Yankees was Andy Pettite, who faced off against Jared Weaver.

To start the game Jeter led off, only seeing two pitches before taking the third one out of the park for the first run of the game. Things were looking good in the early innings for the Yanks, Alex Rodriguez also had a solo home run in the fourth making it 2-0. Along side A-rod and Jeter, Johnny Damon decided to pitch with a solo home run in the fifth inning making it 3-0 After 4-1/2 innings of play. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Angels Kendrick, decided to start things off with a solo home run to left field. Unfortunately for the Yanks, this is when we started going down hill. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Vladamir Guerrero had a two run blast tying the score at 3-3. As the game went on, the Angels took the lead 4-3 in the bottom of the 7th, as Izturis hit a sacrifice fly which scored Kendrick. It wasn't over yet, Jorge Posada decided to put in some work of his own for the Yankees fourth solo home run of the game tying the game at 4-4.

This game was so interesting to watch, especially in the late innings, and eventually went into extra innings. Throughout the game, the yanks had several opportunity's to put runs on the board but had trouble getting that one big hit. In the bottom of the eleventh, was possibly the dumbest move Joe Girardi has made all year. To start the eleventh inning, Girardi took Robertson out of the bullpen and put him in the game. Two up- two down in this inning, and Girardi decides that, that wasn't good enough, so he took out Robertson and put in Aceves who was very good for us this year. Unfortunately, Aceves gave up a single, than a long hit to the outfield Mathis, and Kendrick scored to win the game. After the walk off, the Angels did just like the Yanks and celebrated on the field, tackling each other, and cheering. The crowd in LA was going nuts, and the hometown Bronx was definitley very quiet. I know that my apartment did not have a good rest of the night after watching the end of this one, especially since the Yanks did not lose a game yet in the postseason. After watching this game, it gives me a different perspective on how this series could end up, but like my roommates said, I'm just being a Yankee fan(they will pull this one out). I know a lot of people are upset that we lost a game, and if not taken care of, can lose a couple more, but I do know one thing, with CC Sabathia on the mound tonight, the Angels are going to have to try that much harder, and the Yanks are definitely going to have to turn there bats around and start hitting. However, the Yanks were ALMOST undefeated this playoffs, and we were ALMOST about to win, but tonight will be a huge game, and possibly could decide the series advantage.

New York- New York!

Hey everyone, I got another interesting post this week, concerning my Yankees and Giants. Last sunday the New York Giants faced off against the Oakland Raiders in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. With much speculation before the game if Eli was going to start, he kept his reputation and began the game. Right from the get-go it was safe to say this game was going to be a blow out with the end of the first quarter 14-0. If it wasn't enough taking Eli out of the game in the first quarter, but David Carr added another 17 points in the second quarter, making the score 31-0. The rest of the game was almost like a video game simulation when nobody wants to play anymore. The raiders were being bashed by the announcers during and after the game, and were called the worst team in the league. However this upcoming sunday it wont be that easy,as we face off against the New Orleans Saints who are also 5-0. This is going to be a battle of quarterbacks, runningbacks, and defense. Personally I feel really confident because Eli got good rest last week, and Ahmad Bradshaw is finally coming out of his shell with 11 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns last week.

As far as my other team is concerned, we rapped up a sweet sweep against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday with a 4-1 win for Andy Pettite. The Yanks really lucked out having their next game on friday because they get to rest their pitching staff, and players. Going into friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, we know Sabathia will be on the mound facing off against John Lackey. This will be a great showdown with both aces from each club on the mound. Luckily for the Yanks they got home field advantage throughout the playoffs, so our first two games will be home in the Bronx. We got three wins under our belt, and you only need eleven to win the world series (you do the math). Joe Girardi and his ball club are feeling very confident especially with one huge comback win last series, and Alex Rodriguez is finally coming to life in the playoffs. Believe me or not, I called in the beginning of the season that A-Rod will do ok in the regular season and finally have a great postseason. So far my prediction is going right on point. So dont forget Friday October 16 New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels at 7:37. Dont miss it!!

It's Playoff Time!

Back again with another post, concerning the New York Yankees and their post season dreams. In the past seven 8 years the Yankees have fell short of making the world series, something they are notoriously known for. With 26 world championships, the Yankees with start for number 27 on Wednesday, October 7th. This past Sunday, the Yankees finished up thier regular season with last year’s division winners, the Tampa Bay Rays, and won this meeting 10-2, while Alex Rodriguez hit in 7 RBI's, tying the league record for this year.
Playing tonight will be the Minnesota Twins against the Detriot Tigers to see who will play the Yankees tomorrow night in the Bronx. In the other bracket, is the Boston Red Sox against the Los Angeles Angels, which the winners will play the winners of the New York Bracket. Personally I hope the Yankees play the Red Sox for the Division title this year. According to many people, this is the biggest rivalry in all of sports. Many will argue that but it is definitely a huge rival between states and cities.
This year the Yankees finished with 103 wins and 59 losses, making this the best record in baseball. Looking into the postseason, the Yanks pitching staff is looking very strong with Cy Young contender C.C. Sabathia, veteran Andy Pettite, and A.J. Burnett who finished 13-9. Along with their strong pitching staff, the Yankees have an even stronger batting order, with two American League M.V.P. contenders; Derek Jeter and Mark Texeira. Alongside those two, is power house Alex Rodriguez, who was hurt for the beginning of the year, and came through clutch for the remainder of the year. All in all, I feel as if the Yankees have the best chance to win the World Series because of their experience, talent, and over team chemistry.
With the game starting tomorrow, you bet I will be watching every game, and praying the Yankees can pull it out. C.C. Sabathia will be on the mound, and the full Yankees line-up will be in effect. This should be an exciting October, and an even more exciting November (if they make it their). GO YANKSS!!

New York Giants

This past sunday, on NFL primetime, the New York Giants, played their rival, the DallasCowboys, at the new stadium in Texas. What a showdown this was, and if you didn't see it im about to let you know. To start of the game Dalls recieved the ball going 3 and out, punting it over to the Giants. First drive down the field, Eli Manning, manged to work with his new recievers to score the first points of the game. After kicking the ball off to Dalls, they did some work of their own and scored the net drive down the field. At the end of the first quarter, Giants are up 10-7.
This was a battle from the start, both Eli Manning and Tony Romo were looking sharp, and to be honest I was a little nervous for the G-Men. As the game rolls on, the Giants and Cowboys were neck and neck, each scoring a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter, making the score 20-17 Giants up at the half. Being a Giants fan, I knew we had to make some adjustments in the second half, and that we did, by picking up the defesnse, and Eli carrying us with the sweet passes to our receivers.
To start the second half, Giants recieved the ball but, couldn't find a way to put it in the endzone. Dallas got the ball back and scored a touchdown, which was their only points for the quarter. At the end of 3, Dallas was leading 24-20. At this point, I was definitley feeling that the home field advantage for Dallas could be a huge factor in the outcome of this game. Luckily for me, I had faith in Big Blue.
The fourth quarter was the most exciting part of this game, and probably all sunday for this week in football. As the game goes on, Dallas scores with 3:45 left putting the Cowboys up by 3 with too much time for Eli to go to work. For those who do not watch the Giants play, Eli Manning is at his best under two minutes in clutch situations. After recieving the ball the G-men went to work,and drove down the field. Both Steve Smith and Mario Manningham combined for 20 catch's and 284 total yards. The game ended when Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes kicking in a 37 Yard field goal right through the up-rights. Cowboys stadium was quiet, but my apartment was not, sharing this victory with two other Giants fans, screaming and cheering after this victory.
Even though I am a die hard Giants fan, I still would like to say that Dallas played a great game. To me the big difference maker was Eli didnt get sacked once, or throw one interception, while Tony Romo through 3 interceptions, and only threw for 127 yards. Dallas had four turnover's all together, leading the Giants to 24 unanswered points. With all that said, it was another great day for New York Sports... Go G-Men!!

Sports Blog- Yankees History

Growing up in downstate New York, I grew up following the Yankees my whole life. Every season I catch almost every game, and make it to at least five games a year. The Bronx Bombers bring so much excitment every game, and it's no wonder why they have the highest attendance rate every year. Fourtunatley for all the Yankees fans out their, Derek Jeter is about to pass Lou Gehrig for the most hits all time in Yankees history. Since 1995 when Jeter came into the league, he has been the leader of this Yankee dynasty. So much history is behind the New York Yankees organization, that this record almost seems like a minor step, however this is one of the biggest, and most recognized record to ever be broken. Tonight, Jeter will be going to break this record of 2,721 hits, which he is tied with right now.
On wednesday, when Jeter tied the record, they stopped play for about ten minutes due to the crowd roaring and chanting Jeter's name. I am not going to lie, I am a die hard Yankees fan, who previously worked in Yankees stadium during the 2007 season, so my opinions might seem a little bias, but I know their are tons of people out their who feel the same as me. Their are many speculations, about Jeter possibly going down as one of the best Yankees in history, and possibly the best baseball player to ever play the game. The way he goes about the game, the way he presents himself day in and day out, to me, makes him the best player playing the game right now. Currently this year, Jeter is in line to win the A.L. MVP award, and even the Roberto Clemente award. Even though in his career, he has one so many awards and championships, this MVP award will complete his trophy case. So with that, all I have to say is GO YANKSSS!!

First Post

Since SUNY Cortland is new to me, I will let people know a little more about myself. I live in the West Campus Apartments, which are really nice compared to SUNY Cobleskill's dormatory. I wish they were a little closer to campus, but unfourtuantley their is nothing I can do about it. The first couple weeks of school are still tough, with getting to know people, and switching from a small campus to a big one. Overall, I would say the biggest difference from transferring schools is the class size, which I find a little harder, but like I said, im still getting used to this school. Another cool thing about this school is the campus involvement. It seems as if a lot of people are into the sports programs, and the upcoming events, which is really neat. Apparently, the football program is real big at this school so I am really looking forward to going to the games this year.